There's really nothing more chic that entering someone's home and seeing a perfectly strange and curated mix of coffee table books perched in the living room.
Whether they're about vintage interiors or sports history or a favourite film director – these books should tell us something about the souls who own them. We're not interested in seeing you pick up conventional coffee table books for the popularity's sake alone. There are far too many cool, interesting and vintage iterations to choose from to simply land on the same generic fashion or travel books as the layman.
Instead, we've curated a list of some of the most beautiful and interesting photo-forward coffee table books that we'd really like to have adorning our coffee tables. Perhaps some of these may pique your interest too.
Happier, Stupider Times by A24 Books
Where to buy: A24 Books website
Before the fame, there was Provincetown. A24 Books' Happier, Stupider Times revisits the sun-soaked summers that shaped Anthony Bourdain, weaving together unseen archives, local recipes and stories from the creative community that influenced one of food's greatest storytellers.
WARM by Matteau
Where to buy: Matteau website
Marking ten years of the resortwear brand, Matteau WARM is a visual ode to the people and places that have shaped their story. The book focuses on the enduring bond with the sun and sea, including over 200 images captured by 13 photographers and spanning 50 years of destinations from Cadaqués to Croatia.
The Women’s Collections 1989-2009 by Martin Margiela
The accompanying publication to the first comprehensive Martin Margiela exhibition presented in Asia, this book traces the designer's groundbreaking work across 20 years of his career. Featuring more than 130 looks alongside runway imagery, archival material and exhibition installations, it offers an in-depth exploration of the designer who fundamentally reshaped both the language of fashion and the fashion system itself.
La Dolce Vita by Slim Aarons
Where to buy: Amazon
For those wanting to get away. A romantic and glamorous account of the years spent visiting Italy over the course of his entire life. otherworldly aerials of the Sicilian countryside, intimate portraits of celebrities and high society taken in their breathtaking villas, "the good life" is thoroughly captured in La Dolce Vita.
DESIRE by Patti Smith & Robert Maplethorpe
Where to buy: NJG Studio
DESIRE by Lloyd Ziff captures Smith & Maplethorpe's first photoshoot together in 1968 at their shared apartment in Brooklyn, and again in 1969 at Ziff's apartment in Greenwich Village. Documented as a pair, Ziff's imagery captures intimate and earnest moments between the two from an unpolished lens. Before just kids, the enduringly desirable unspoen language between them is immortalised in Ziff's photographs.
Polaroids 1994-1997 by Davide Sorrenti
Where to buy: Douglas Stewart Fine Books
Davide Sorrenti's legacy translated into a book of some of his most prolific and raw work. This coffee table tome strays from his editorial and advertising work and brings his young life into focus amid an era that the photographer ultimately defined as heroin-chic.
Kate by Mario Sorrenti
Where to buy: Booktopia
The duo that has inspired for decades. Mario Sorrenti's intimate imagery of Kate Moss at the time they were a couple have transcended time in a captivating way. Shots that capture true connection - Sorrenti's collection of 17 year old Moss depicts moments of each of them on the precipice of two legendary careers. It's all Kate, and here she is, unguarded and impossible to look away from.
Polaroids 1958-1987 by Andy Warhol
Where to buy: Booktopia
Warhols legacy, and the years he carried his polaroid camera around his neck immortalised in imagery that depicts his life at the height of his career. Portraits of celebrities such as Mick Jagger, Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Nicholson, Yves Saint Laurent, Pelé, Debbie Harry are included alongside images of Warhol’s entourage and high life, landscapes, and still lifes from Cabbage Patch dolls to the iconic soup cans.
This is Not a F*cking Street Style Book by Adam Katz Sinding
Where to buy: Booktopia
For those missing fashion shows, iconic street style photographer Adam Katz Sinding brings them to the living room. Documenting major fashion events, top brands, tastemakers, and models since 2003, Katz Sinding offers a look into candid moments across the globe from some of the biggest fashion events in the past decade. A reference point for memory, nostalgia, style and culture, this is more than a f*cking street style book.
Polaroid Diaries by Linda McCartney
Where to buy: Amazon
Linda McCartney’s polaroid diaries provide an intimate glimpse into her photographic work, focussing on the way of seeing the world through her family and personal portraits. From husband Paul to their four children, the book is a heartwarming, eloquent capsule into the lives of one of the world’s most famous families, through their own lens. Horse riding, dress ups and family meals are captured in McCartney’s unique gaze.
ACE: The Times & Style of Tennis by Sunita Kumar Nair
Where to buy: Amazon
This book explores how the sport evolved from the starched all-white dress codes of Wimbledon into one of fashion's most influential cultural stages, charting iconic style moments from early champions to modern trailblazers like Serena Williams and Roger Federer. Drawing on archival photography, exclusive interviews and fashion insider Sunita Kumar Nair's expertise, the book also reveals how tennis has shaped global style through landmark collaborations with brands including Nike, Lacoste and Louis Vuitton.
The Virgin Suicides by MACK and Sofia Coppola (ed.)
Where to buy: MACK
Released to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of The Virgin Suicides, this beautifully designed volume presents British photographer Corinne Day’s previously unseen on-set photographs, offering an intimate glimpse into Sofia Coppola’s cult directorial debut. Featuring new texts by Sofia Coppola and Jeffrey Eugenides, the book captures the dreamlike atmosphere, quiet melancholy and visual language that have made the film an enduring touchstone of contemporary cinema.
Apollo by Frederik Bille Brahe
Where to buy: Amazon
An invitation into Frederik Bille Brahe's celebrated Copenhagen restaurant, where 104 recipes blend Danish traditions with Japanese, French and Italian influences in a style that feels both effortless and refined. More than a cookbook, it's a portrait of the creative world surrounding Apollo – capturing the intersection of food, art, design and community that has made the restaurant one of contemporary dining's most inspiring destinations.
Homes for Nomads by Thijs Demeulemeester
Where to buy: Booktopia
With photographs by Jan Verlinde and commentary from Thijs Demeulemeester, discover 20 inspiring homes filled with unique objects collected by seasoned travellers. These include a Vespa, a tiki bar, a surfboard amongst other memorable treasures accumulated along the way. What they reveal is how a sense of travelling can be tied to every home, without needing to leave.
Living in Style: Amsterdam by teNeues
Where to buy: Booktopia
For those seeking an escape to Holland without even needing to leave their home, Living in Style: Amsterdam fills the void of not owning a Scandinavian loft in the centre of the Dutch capital. With intimate portraits of houses across the city, it is an exploration of what it means to live in Amsterdam and craft a home unique to you.
Where I Find Myself: A Lifetime Retrospective by Joel Meyerowitz
Where to buy: Amazon
A retrospective of one of America’s leading photographers, Where I Find Myself is organised in inverse, chronological order spanning Joel Meyerowitz’s entire career to date. Covering all great projects, works inspired by Morandi and coverage of Ground Zero, it is a comprehensive guide to his work and America through his lens.
The Flowers by Dr Lisa Cooper
Where to buy: Booktopia
Dr Lisa Cooper’s book on flowers gives the insight of the practices and vistas of someone who works with the plants daily, through her work as a leading floral designer and artist. With witty anecdotes. Instruction and photographic essays, you are taken from her workspace to growers’ farms, with flowers captured in their natural working environment.
Matisse: The Books by Louise Rogers Lalaurie
Where to buy: Booktopia
Louise Rogers Lalaurie reintroduces the world to Matisse through thoughtfully considering how the artist constructs dialogue between words and image. The profound significant of Matisse as ab artists, looking broadly at his poetry, drama and own words, offering a portrait of creative resistance and regeneration.
Fresh Sets by Tembe Denton-Hurst
Where to buy: Amazon
Fresh Sets showcases the work of 35 contemporary nail artists from cities including New York, Seoul, Tokyo, London, Paris and Melbourne, exploring the techniques, inspirations and aesthetics shaping modern nail culture. Written by New York Magazine's Tembe Denton-Hurst and featuring more than 300 colour illustrations, the book traces the evolution of nail art through artist profiles, historical context and a glossary of key techniques.
How Directors Dress by A24 Books
Where to buy: MACK
A visual celebration of cinema's greatest auteurs, this book explores the lives of iconic directors, the films they created and the cultural moments that shaped them, revealing how personal style has long been intertwined with the art of filmmaking. Featuring more than 200 archival photographs alongside original essays, a foreword by Joanna Hogg, an introduction by Charlie Porter and an afterword by Yohji Yamamoto, it offers a rare portrait of directors both behind the camera and in the worlds they helped define.
MARC by Sofia
Where to boy: MACK
A celebration of Sofia Coppola and Marc Jacobs friendship of 20 years. A companion book to Coppola's documentary, the book offers her own look on Jacob's life. Inside you'll find conversations between the two, including guest interviewers, and hundreds ot photographs and behind the scenes looks from Jacob's life, through the curated lens of Coppola.
